'Relax & enjoy it' - Simmo's rallying cry to players ahead of biggest game of the season

Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson is looking for his side to put an end to their winless run, starting with Tranmere Rovers on Friday.

The Blues currently sit in fourth place in League Two after 39 matches played.

Paul Simpson's side have not won any of their last four fixtures, including defeats in their last two against Gillingham and Leyton Orient, and have not scored in any of them.

Speaking about his sides winless run, he said: "When you lose games of football it obviously dents your confidence. But we have just talked this week about having a bit of a reset.

"Let’s get back to doing what we were doing. The players know that this has been a good season so far.

"They also know that they don’t want it to finish now. They want it to carry on, they want it to finish strongly. So there is a real desire in amongst that group. I don’t see a group that’s chins are on the floor, that are down in the dumps. I see a group that knows we are still capable of getting results that is going to take us somewhere where we want to go.

"That is all we can do, we can keep driving each other on, make sure we keep working hard, or harder than we already have done and then hope that our football ability comes through."

A double header over the Easter weekend see's Carlisle United host Tranmere Rovers on Friday, before travelling to face Walsall on Monday.

Simpson believes that in order to achieve their aims his side need to take things one game at a time.

He said: "Everybody says it in football but it is one game at a time, we have to make sure we do Friday properly. If we do that then we will take whatever comes from the rest of the country and then we can start preparing for Walsall.

"So I am not going to jump ahead, I want results in the next seven games, it is as simple as that. The first one is Tranmere, that is the only focus we have got.

"Once I have dealt with that one I will go home on Good Friday and I will start preparing for Walsall. Until we have dealt with Tranmere properly, the Walsall game is irrelevant."

Simpson believes that one year on from his side battling to stay in the football league he is managing his side in the same way this campaign.

With promotion still a possibility for Carlisle this season, Simpson is sticking to his guns with what has worked so far this campaign.

He said: "I try to manage the same way. I have a way that I go about it. I believe it has worked for the majority this season so I don’t see the need to change it and it is the same way I worked last season when we were scrapping at the bottom of the table.

"You just have to have a clear and consistent plan, giving consistent messages and making it really simple for players to go out and perform. What we want this weekend, starting with the Friday game is players being able to relax and go out and enjoy their football and enjoy what they are doing and if they do that then hopefully the result will follow."

Friday's opponents Tranmere Rovers are sitting in mid-table in the division. Simpson believes though that through his experience of playing them throughout his career they will present a tough challenge for his side.

He said: "They will be coming with no pressure on them that’s one thing. In my whole time in football, I am going back to 1982 as to when I was a youth player at Manchester City when we used to play Tranmere youth, I have never come across a Tranmere team that will just roll over and let us tickle them.

"They are going to come and make it really difficult. They are going to have a bit of fire in their belly.

"They are a good football team, some good individuals and we know we are going to have to be at it. The beauty of English football is that every single team goes out and wants to win.

"Nobody switches off or takes their foot off of the gas. These two caretakers will want to try and make an impression, whether they want the job themselves. We have got to be able to come up against that and make sure we come out on top."

Friday's match will see a bumper crowd at Brunton Park with more than 11,000 tickets already sold for the game. It will be the highest crowd at Brunton Park in many years and that is something which Simpson is excited to experience again.

He said: "I can’t wait. I think it is going to be a brilliant atmosphere. It is going to be absolutely superb.

"I experienced it here when I was here between 2003 and 2006. It is what we want as a football club, everybody wants it. If you are a player you want to play in front of full houses, as a manager that is what I want.

"The truth is it means you are actually doing things right. We have done a lot of good things this season and the challenge is to get back to doing good things for the last seven.”

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